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Both jobs will give you options after your service time is over.
My son does HVAC for Air Force. He is very happy with it, he really enjoys being out in the field. I do mean that literally as this job is in the northern states of Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota. His favorite is when they go out in the side-by-side ATV's. Not only will you be certified HVAC, you will also be able to get a CDL. My son is currently working on his associates in applied mechanics. Afterwards his plan is to finish his bachelors in mechanical engineering and go air national guard to continue his service time.
Greetings;
During my Active Duty career, my job on shore-duty was Law Enforcement. I attended the Air Force Policy Academy at Lackland. I served as Navy Police for a total of 6 years [two 3 year tours]. In that role I worked side-by-side with civilian Law Enforcement both stateside and overseas. It was an enjoyable job overall.
Now as a retiree, I have been re-establishing contact with many of my former co-workers, both from serving on subs as well as Police Departments.
Most of my career was on subs, working with various specialties of mechanics and technicians.
One of my brothers was an MP in the US Army, after he got out he went into civilian Law Enforcement where he worked for 30 years. For him it was a good stepping stone.
My husband was a medic (68W) but is an HVAC tech and has been for over 15 years as a civilian (he is 33). He makes pretty good $. More than he would if he were an EMT or even a cop. He really enjoys his job.
That sounds like a smart choice. Being a young female, and knowing nothing about the Air Force I prefer to ask a lot of questions. Making good money after life in the military sounds real good
Me too. Maintenance jobs are a great way to learn a skill. If you stay in there are always senior NCO positions. OP may have to change or rather add in other maintenance aspects but eventually they will lead to leadership roles. I would go Army over the Air Force but both are great places to get started.
I love challenges,and see opportunities where others see difficulty. HVAC sounds aweasome, especially being a female. Its actually kind of funny, because my mom did construction for 20 years. I always saw myself as the office type, and nothing close to maintenance jobs. I tried the Army, but my recruiter screwed me over, so I switched to Air Force. To me it was the best thing he ever did for me. One day I'm even going to thank him.
I don't know anything about military jobs, and would really appreciate the feedback. It's kind of weird when recruiters are telling you jobs you qualify for and you're clueless. You want to make the best choice before making that final decision.
Well, what do you think would do you the most good once (if) you decide to leave the service? If you just plan on doing four years, and want to go into LE after your hitch is up, then MP would be a good choice.
The money is better and a safer environment with HVAC/R. Top techs get paid pretty well depending on where you are and how far your skills go. I don't know what the rank advancement opportunities comparison would be between those two specific MOSs. But I would imagine either would be good if your performance merits promotion.
My experience has only been with interactions with Sea Bees. I would definitely take the trade MOS over MP.
This is a rare opportunity to actually get trained on the MOS and actually get to do your MOS. While MP may sound glamorous, when they deploy, they are frequently guarding gates. Not sure how many civilian police are guarding gates and checking IDs to get into a place. Or they go to GITMO and babysit detainees for 9 months at a time. Even worse they go to Kuwait and they're looking for guys on bicycles to give tickets to for going over the speed limit on Camp Buehring. How do they know how fast someone on a bicycle is going? Because they assume a car is doing the speed limit and if a bicycle is passing the car, the bicycle must be speeding. True story.
@Army_Guy
Wow! that sounds insane. That is definitely not where I see myself. For some reason asking a lot of questions is something I find myself doing a lot. Its better to hear it from someone that's actually been there than someone whose never been in that position. I'm actually grateful to have stumble across this forum.
I have HVAC experience for the civilian world as it was my day job for 4 years.
Enlisted in the Air Force Reserve this past March with my AFSC being 2A636 (Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems).
Not many people do this for a job. If I recall correctly, the Air Force does have a pretty good HVAC program. If I were you I would go that route if you're looking to be a tradesman on the outside. Mind you, the job is what you make of it. Science plays a big part in what happens in the overall process so if you enjoy topics like physics, chemistry and a touch of engineering, this will help you.
You will also become proficient at being an electrician, plumber, carpenter, and sheetrocker (the primary trades) as all these trades in one way or another tie into the installation and performance of the HVAC system.
On the plus side as well, you'll be able to fix your own system at home if it does go down.
Negatives of this job include having to be on call, extremely irritated people when you can't get their system back online because they need a specialty part and have to wait, or, when they see the bill and flip out on you because you think you're ripping them off, dirty places such as basements or crawlspaces where you'll be friends with the spiders, and finally the ever so lovely attic where temps could reach 150 degrees and if it's a tight attic... Well, just make sure to hydrate and stretch it out. Working 12 hours or more sometimes is not uncommon especially in residential HVAC during the summer.
The pay for HVAC is pretty good. depending on where you begin your journey you could be looking at $ 12/hr and with time and experience move up to $30+/hr. For the first 5 years, don't expect to hit the jackpot or be making good money unless you have proven yourself as a very technical troubleshooter and problem fixer. Remember: It's always good to have a process when diagnosing. I personally start with the electrical as its ~ 80% of the trade.
As for the police (Security Forces), I'm not too flavored with them but they do a lot checking out by the gate or patrolling the base or watching the flight line to make sure nobody breaks red. I would refer to the Air Force subreddit and ask your questions there as well since they would have a lot more info for you.
Since you're a female, even better. I have only run into 2 female tradesmen and it was very cool to see since this a male dominant career field. Should you choose to do this on the outside, you'll have some pretty surprised customers and the experience may be different (in a positive way).
Good luck in your choice. Feel free to message me any more questions you have about the trade.
Last edited by pmck94; 06-06-2017 at 08:57 AM..
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